Garden of the Dead (1972)

You won't be disappointed!

Absolutely the worst movie.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

GARDEN OF THE DEAD is a nice little zombie picture that clocks in at just under an hour in length. The story is heavily indebted to Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, of course, but that doesn't stop it being a fun film with all of the right ingredients: effective zombie makeup, a creepy atmosphere, and an interesting story.This one's about chain-gang prisoners who are addicted to drug taking. When they get killed during a riot, their addiction sees them returning from the dead to wreak vengeance on the guards. It's an interesting enough plot; a bit like COOL HAND Luke with added undead, if you like. John Hayes worked for over twenty years as an exploitation director and along with GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE this is one of his most memorable efforts. GARDEN OF THE DEAD is at least as good as CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, and probably a bit better.

For about 2 years of my life this was easily the worst movie i had ever seen. I was always a fan of cheap, bad horror movies (frankenstein island, swamp of the lost monster) but this one took the cake. the dim lighting, if there was any lighting at all, overacting and ridiculous concept were enough for me to do something i have never done before, i returned this movie to the video store the very same day immediately after i watched it. i did this to save my family from seeing it and having the same horrible time as i have. ... Fast forward about 2 years and me and a bunch of friends are stuck with nothing to do on a new year's year in 1998. after hearing how bad it was my friends decided to watch it and i was forced to do so as well. it was perhaps the funniest thing i had ever seen on film, there were too many laughs to mention here so i will just say this. This movie has gone from the worst i have ever seen, to being a part of my DVD collection. (I had to buy it it was $2.50 Brand New)Great Film For Those Who Have Nothing Better To Do.

A group of convicts in a corruptly administered work camp get a cheap high by huffing from a tin drum of formaldehyde. They are later killed during an escape attempt, only to rise from their graves and set about doing all the terrible things we've come to expect of zombies.This is a fairly starch example of skinflint 70s horror, although it does deserve the small-beans honor of being, most likely, the first film to represent zombies as cognitive and dexterous in speech and movement(as opposed to the fish-eyed, lumbering customary type). It would stand to reason that these enhanced capacities should result in more formidable and frightening zombies...unfortunately, they come off as awkward and occasionally laughable.A slight film of no real importance, GARDEN OF THE DEAD is, at best, sufficient fodder for independent TV station "Tweaking Til Dawn" type shows. Meh.4/10

Well, I have to give these zombies credit for one thing. They are sure the fastest zombies I've ever seen. They like to run in really fast from the darkness, dance around for a little bit, swing a pick-axe in the general direction of a person, then dance away. I'm still not sure how, but the person always seems to die. They probably can't wait to get out of this bad movie. My personal favorite heckle was about the prison itself. Chicken wire does not count as a prison. LOL I like the part when the zombie has to cut a wire with the ax. I'm just thinking, "Oh come on, it is like spider web!" Nothing I can say can possible describe the horror that I felt when I watched this movie. I suggest everyone watch this movie at least once in your life. Don't worry, it is only like thirty minutes long.